That internal headset install took me 4 hours longer than I thought

I was swapping a fork on my old Rockhopper and figured the headset would take maybe 30 minutes. But the crown race wouldn't seat right no matter how hard I hammered it. Turns out the new fork had a slightly wider steerer tube and I didn't measure it beforehand. I ended up filing down the race inside for like 2 hours until it finally slid on. Anyone else ever have a simple job turn into an all day thing because of one part not fitting?

2 comments

2 Comments

thea14311d ago

lol nothing makes you feel like a bike mechanic genius like spending two hours filing down a headset part that you swore was gonna be a 10 minute swap. I had a similar thing with a new stem, turns out the faceplate bolts were just slightly too long and they kept bottoming out before clamping down. Spent a solid 45 minutes cross threading one and then wondering why my bars were loose. That moment when you realize you've been fighting a dumb tolerance issue instead of just measuring first is just classic lmao.

xenan6411d ago

Dude yes, been there! Had a bottom bracket that fought me for half a day before I noticed a tiny burr on the frame threads.